Against the Un-Dead
by ElliotJA
Summary: Uhura braves the castle of the ultimate vampire: Dracula!


Night, with all its twilight magic and mystery, had fallen on the world as Nyota Uhura, communications officer of the starship _Enterprise, _reached the top of thethickly forested hill and saw the dark, ancient castle in front of her, its battlements rearing up to the moon and the glimmering stars. Uhura had traveled among those far off stars, walked upon the planets that whirled around them, loved them. But her destination now was the castle, and what awaited her within its walls, and she shivered, half with apprehension, and half with a strange eagerness as she walked underneath the stone arch in the outer wall and entered the courtyard.

She grasped the leather bag she carried by a strap over her shoulder. She did not have a phaser with her, though the contents of the bag gave her adequate security in her current surroundings. Again she shivered slightly in the suddenly chilly air, as she looked all around herself at the grim stone walls, quickly noticing a large door of iron-studded oak set in one such wall, atop a short flight of stone steps, slightly ajar and with a yellow light shining through the gap. Toward this she determinedly went, pushing the heavy door open wider and slipping inside.

Despite herself, Uhura gasped at what she saw. The hall she now stood in was spacious, illuminated by the flickering embers of a great fireplace and lone candles placed in niches at intervals along the walls. Those same walls were decorated with finely wrought tapestries depicting scenes of the hunt and war, along with swords, lances and shields that had seen combat in bygone days. Near the fireplace stood a long table, surrounded by empty chairs. And then there was the staircase, leading to the shadowy upper level of the castle.

"Okay," she murmured to herself, "what happens now?"

It was barely an instant since she spoke that she started, as from the shadows above rang out a cry of pain and exhaustion. Uhura looked up and saw, grasping the bannisters in shaking hands, the figure of a man with his head drooped over. In a second he raised his face and looked down at Uhura, his features wide-eyed and shining with sweat. "Oh," he gasped on seeing her, "thank God you are here!" He startedfor the stairs then, and collapsed at the foot of them as Uhura met him there. "Nyota," he said as he lay in her arms, "you must stop him! I am too weak..."

And then _he _spoke: "But you shall not stop me, Nyota." Uhura fought to keep her pulse under control as, still kneeling beside the stricken form of Professor van Helsing, she looked up and saw _him _looming there, an engulfing shadow awful and yet beautiful. Rather than back away, she rose and slowly walked up to him until barely an inch separated her from Count Dracula, and his burning eyes were locked onto hers. She heard his cloak rustle as he raised his hand to stroke the side of her face. "Nyota...!" His voice was husky, eager. "I am your master...your love..."

His eyes seemed to burn even hotter as the seconds ticked silently by, almost like elderly stars she had watched blossom into supernovas. And Uhura heard her own voice, trembling: "Dracula..." The vampire had no time to move, before she quickly reached into her bag, wrapped her hand around the wooden stake therein, whipped it out, and stabbed its sharp point into the heart of the man in front of her. Dracula's mouth gaped wide in surprise and anguish, and Uhura saw the twin points of his fangs shining brightly.

"You've done it, Nyota," Professor van Helsing said as he came to stand beside her, Count Dracula now reduced to grey ashes blowing away on a sudden breeze from a crumpled, lifeless suit of clothes.

Turning to van Helsing, Uhura said with a smile "It's something I've always wanted to do!" And as she walked out of the castle into the peaceful night, she was grateful for having been introduced to the novel _Dracula _as a child, and also that the _Enterprise _had found this amusement park planet where the entire crew could realise their fantasies. And to think, it all started with Doctor McCoy's rabbit...


End file.
